The Boar's Head

Image from The Every Day Book by William Hone, 1825

Are you ready for the season of caroling? Drink some punch and you might be ready to break out this christmas classic!

The boar's head in hand bear I,
Bedeck'd with bays and rosemary.
And I pray you, my masters, merry be,
Quot estis in convivio (Translation: As many as are in the feast)

CHORUS
Caput apri defero (Translation: The boar's head I offer)
Reddens laudes Domino (Translation: Giving praises to the Lord)

The boar's head, as I understand,
Is the rarest dish in all this land,
Which thus bedeck'd with a gay garland
Let us servire cantico. (Translation: Let us serve with a song)

CHORUS
Our steward hath provided this
In honour of the King of Bliss;
Which on this day to be served is
In Reginensi atrio. (Translation: In the hall of Queen’s [College, Oxford])

It's pretty fun to find a Christmas Carol that also doubles as a recipe! If you have never heard the song, you can listen to it here.

And we loved listening to The Feast podcast episode on this topic: celebrating the "unofficial animal of winter" by diving into the full history of The Boar's Head and Winter Festivals!